NASCAR's Roush injured in Wisconsin plane crash

[July 28, 2010]  MILWAUKEE (AP) -- NASCAR team owner Jack Roush was in serious but stable condition after walking away from a plane crash in Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

"There are injuries. Possible surgery," Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith said in a text message to The Associated Press. "But he walked out of the plane."

Smith confirmed that the plane belonged to Roush, and he was flying it. Smith said Roush's injuries include facial lacerations.

Roush, an aviation buff, was attending the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this week.

In a statement on the EAA Web site, officials said a Beechcraft Premier business jet registered to Roush Fenway Racing, LLC was involved in a landing accident at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

The accident occurred at approximately 6:15 p.m. CDT, the statement said.

According to the EAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and Winnebago County Sheriff's Department confirmed that two occupants on board were Roush and Brenda Strickland of Plymouth, Mich. Strickland is a friend of Roush's.

"Each exited the aircraft following the accident," the statement said. "Both were transported to local hospitals, with Roush in serious but stable condition and Strickland with non-life threatening injuries. The NTSB is leading the investigation into the accident."

According to a statement from the team, Roush was landing his plane when the accident occurred.

"Dr. Kevin Wasco, the attending physician, says that Roush is in serious but stable condition," the team's statement said. "His injuries are not life threatening."

It is the second close call for Roush, who crashed a plane into a pond in Alabama in 2002 and nearly drowned before being rescued by an ex-Marine who lived nearby. Despite sustaining serious injuries, Roush continued flying.

Roush owns several aircraft, including a World War II-vintage P-51 Mustang.

After having success in dragsters and sports car racing, Roush -- a former Ford engineer and college physics teacher -- founded his NASCAR team in 1988. Known for his trademark Panama-style hat, academic speaking style and love for tinkering with anything mechanical, he won championships in NASCAR's top series with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in 2004.

Since 2007, Roush has partnered with the Fenway Sports Group, the sports marketing arm of the Boston Red Sox's parent company.

The team currently fields cars in the Cup series for Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and David Ragan.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS JENKINS]

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